A friend sent Wilson a photo of Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake mocking the crossed-arms gesture that the Giants' All-Star closer makes when he finishes off a victory. The gesture is symbolic of Wilson's faith and it's also a signal to his late father. The background on Wilson's gesture can be found here. [...]

When asked what was upsetting him, Wilson grudgingly showed the photo on his phone to myself and Henry Schulman of the SF Chronicle. (It showed Blake seated in the dugout with his arms crossed.) He didn't want to say anything, though. We asked if Blake's gesture was an affront to his faith. "Yeah, and my dad," Wilson said.

I asked if he'd remember the next time he faced Blake. Wilson shrugged and clamped his mouth shut. From the next locker over, Jeremy Affeldt said, "Blake knows what he did."

"Let's get ready to rumble...the next time these two teams meet...which isn't until—wait, you're kidding me. August? August 10? Geez, wake me up in three months."

Memo to Brian Wilson:just because you make up a hand symbol (I thought he was imitating Wolverine myself) that in your mind is representative of your faith and your father, doesn't mean that Casey Blake or any of the rest of us have to give a shit.

It's Wilson who chose to involve his personal memories of his dad into his celebration. He put it out there. If after hitting his HR, Blake had done a cartwheel in honor of his mom, would that make it OK?

It's why players love closers so much. Frankie Rodriguez "gives props to the lord" everytime he saves a game. Jose Valverde does that riduculous "triple spit" when he enters. The music, the gestures, the rituals? You're supposed to be a pitcher who gets outs. So if Wilson does his little "this one's for you Dad and Jesus" thing and gets made fun of, he had it coming.Quit showing up batters and you won't get mocked.

As Duk from Big League Stew put it: "Personally, I'm willing to bet that Blake wouldn't have done what he did if he knew of the move's significance, especially the part about the tribute to Wilson's dad. I mean, haven't we all laughed at the guy in the distance who trips over the curb, only to feel monumentally bad once we draw near and find out he's blind and handicapped?"